The Ghost In The Attic
by Jyl622
Summary: This is my alternate universe, where Sam and Dean have a sister who is two years younger than Dean. She loves Sam, but wants to be just like Dean. Her name is Mackenzie, but it was shortened to Mike by a 2 yr old Dean. She loves hunting. She meets a girl in school who says she has a problem and while John is away, the kids, 14, 12 and 10 help the girl with her ghost.


**Author's note: I'm new here and not sure this is working, but if it is, this is my version of the Supernatural universe, where Sam and Dean have a sister. I know it doesn't follow canon, but I never really expected to post it anywhere. I just wanted to see if anyone else thought it was interesting, from a fun point of view. Thanks for reading it...I hope you enjoyed it. If I knew how to give it a rating, I'd say M...13 and older.  
**

**Supernatural**

**The Ghost In The Attic**

Mike walked down the hallway of the school, not paying much attention to anyone. She hated this school and couldn't wait for Dad to come back and get them out of here. Most of the kids came from families with money, and she felt that she didn't belong. Especially with Tiffany and her friend always seeming to be in her face. Dean had told her to stay out of trouble but it was getting harder every day. And with him in high school, and her stuck in junior high, she couldn't count on her brother showing up every time something happened. She couldn't wait til next year when she and Dean would be in the same school again. Of course, that would leave Sam alone for two years, but he made friends easier than she did.

"Oh look, the homeless girl is here."

Mike tried to ignore the girls as she reached her locker and worked the combination. Just as she opened the door, it was slammed shut.

"Oh my, must be a strong wind in here," Amber said.

"Well it did blow in a homeless person," Tiffany said and she and her friend laughed.

"Why don't you just go away," Mike said.

"We want you to go away. We don't like homeless people. They're dirty and they smell."

Mike noticed that there was a group of students gathering and after three weeks, she was tired of being bullied and embarrassed by these girls. She turned and faced the two. "I've had it with you two. It's time to leave me alone and go back under the rock you crawled out from under."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really."

"I don't think so." The girl gave Mike's shoulder a slight push, more as a gesture than a real shove.

Mike nodded and sighed. Turning slightly to the right, she dropped her books to the floor, and came up with a right that would've made any hunter proud. Tiffany fell to the floor, blood streaming from a split lip and crying.

Mike stomped hard on Amber's foot, then as the girl bent forward in pain, gave her shoulders a push that sent her flying across the hallway. The girl's arms flailed as she tried to regain her balance, but eventually she hit the wall and slid to the floor.

"Ow, I hit my head," she whined.

Mike walked up to Tiffany and looked down at her. "Now, you stop saying I'm homeless. Just for the record, my home is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and we travel with our father while he works. And if you ever talk to me again, I'll knock every tooth out of your mouth. Am I clear?"

Tiffany nodded and slid away from Mike until she reached her friend Amber. The two of them helped each other stand up then ran down the hall, with Tiffany yelling back, "I'm going to tell Mr. Young. You're going to be in so much trouble."

"What else is new?" Mike said softly as she watched them go.

A girl with a blonde ponytail hanging down to her waist, walked up to her. "Nice right."

"Thanks," Mike said as she picked up her books.

"My name's Lilian Emmett. Friends call me Lil."

"Mike Winchester."

"How did a girl get named Mike?"

"When I was born, my brother was only two and couldn't say my name right. It came out Mike. And it stuck."

"It's cute."

"Where'd you get the English accent?"

"I was born in New York City, to English parents and my Dad was transferred back to England when I was six months old. We just moved back last summer." She nodded toward the hallway where Tiffany and her friend had run. "They deserved that, but you'll still be the one who gets into trouble you know."

"Yeah. Especially when my brother hears about it."

"Your brother? What about your parents?"

Mike turned to her locker and started putting her books away. "My mom died when I was two. Dad's away at work. Dean takes care of us, so he'll be the one to get the phone call. Or Dad will and he'll call Dean and tell him to deal with me."

"Will he be really angry?"

"You mean like 'am I scared of my big brother' angry?"

Her new friend nodded. "Sometimes older brothers can be kind of rough."

Mike smiled and shook her head. "No. I'm not scared. He gets mad sometimes and yells, but he'd never hurt me. He's an awesome brother. You got a brother?"

"Yeah. He doesn't live at home anymore. He's away at school."

"Was he rough?"

"Not too bad, but sometimes, yes I guess so."

Mike didn't say anything, but once again, thought how lucky she was to have Dean for her brother. Near the end of the day, Mike was called to the principle's office. As she entered, she saw Dean sitting there and could tell by the look he gave her that he was mad.

"Go right in," the secretary said and Dean stood. The two walked in and were told to sit down.

"I don't usually have interviews with brothers, but since your father wasn't able to make it here on such short notice, at his request, I agreed to make an exception."

Mike looked at Dean but said nothing. She was wondering if they really had been able to reach her father. If not, it could stay between them and Dad would never have to know. But if he did know...she sighed.

He looked at Dean as he spoke. "Usually the penalty for attacking a student is suspension for 5 days and a parent conference, but since your father expects to be back tonight and taking you out of our school, it's pointless. However, if his plans change, she is not to come back."

"Who did she attack?"

"Two of our finest students. Apparently it was completely uncalled for. They were simply walking down the hall and she started swinging."

"That's not true!"

"Quiet," Dean said.

"But Dean they..."

"I said be quiet."

Mike sat back in the chair and stayed quiet. From other times when Mike had gotten into trouble, they had learned that listening to her brother impressed the grown ups. Believing him to be in charge, they were more likely to let him handle the situation. But it was hard to be lied about and not say anything.

Mr. Young nodded. "Well, it seems your sister listens to you better than she does to anyone here. This isn't the first time she's been in my office, you know."

Dean looked at her. Mike glanced at him then quickly looked back down. She hadn't told him about those almost daily visits.

"Luckily for her, after I explained the situation to the girl's families, they were willing to let it go as long as she doesn't return."

"What situation?"

"Mike! I said be quiet," Dean told her again and once again, she sat back.

"I hope you can keep her out of trouble until your father gets back."

"Yes sir, I can. And once he does get back, he'll take care of this. There won't be any more fighting. Here or anywhere else."

"You can leave now. Clean out your locker before you go. As soon as you're done, leave the grounds."

As they walked to her locker, Dean didn't say a word. A few of the kids gave her curious looks, probably having heard about the fight and maybe wondering who she was with. More than a few girls gave her brother interested looks as well. As Mike worked the combo on her locker, Lil joined them.

"Hey...is this the awesome brother?"

Mike smiled at her. "Yeah. Dean, this is Lil."

He said hi but didn't show much interest. He was still focused on being angry with Mike.

"I've heard a lot about you," Lil continued.

"Any of it good?" Dean gave her half a smile.

She smiled. "Yes, actually. All of it."

Mike knew she hadn't said that much, but obviously, Lil had taken an instant liking to her brother and was flirting with him. She never had much stuff so it didn't take long to empty her locker. She turned and looked at them and realized that she might as well stand quietly and just wait til they remembered she was there.

"Sometimes little sisters exaggerate."

Lil looked at him and shined her brightest smile. "I don't think so. Not this time."

"You want to walk out with us?" Dean asked.

"Sure. I think I'd like to know more about you."

Dean took Lil's books to carry for her and the girl hooked her hands around his arm. They walked out like they were old friends, neither of them paying attention to Mike. 'Oh brother,' thought Mike as she rolled her eyes, unseen by them. By the time they reached the edge of the grounds, Dean had a date for the evening. After exchanging phone numbers and retrieving her books, Lil said goodbye, and promised to meet Dean at seven. Sam came up and joined them.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Dean.

"Getting your sister out of trouble."

"My sister? Isn't she yours too?"

Dean smiled. "Yeah. Especially when she's been fighting."

"Still mad?" she asked.

"No, not anymore, but Young wasn't lying. They did get hold of Dad. He's angry." They walked in silence for a bit, then Dean asked, "Mike, why did you go after them?"

She shrugged. "They just got on my nerves."

"Come on. I know you didn't just attack them for no reason."

"She's been putting up with them ever since we got here. I don't blame her."

"What have they been doing?"

"Nothing," Mike said.

"Teasing her. Calling her the homeless girl."

"Sam, shut up."

Dean put his arm around his little sister as they walked. "I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself. But being called homeless shouldn't bother you. We're not homeless. Anyway, Dad doesn't want you fighting."

"How come it's okay for you?" Mike said, knowing that Dean had been in trouble for fighting just last week.

"That was different. Boys fight."

"How come they called Dad on me? Why did I have to get lucky?"

He shrugged. "Um...Young said something about you being in his office every day. Y'think he's tired of you?"

"But they started it. They're not nice girls. And I wasn't in the office for fighting. It was for not bringing my books and not doing homework...crap stuff."

"Doesn't matter. We'll always be the new kids and we'll be targets. Deal with them in the beginning and get it over with."

"But you told me not to fight."

"No, I said stay out of trouble. Just stand up for yourself and they'll leave you alone."

Mike sighed. "I don't want to go to school anymore. They don't teach us anything important. What am I suppose to do when a vengeful spirit is in my face? Bore it to death with algebra? And unless their spirit is causing trouble, who cares who was president in 1880?"

Dean smiled. His thoughts exactly. "We're stuck for now."

"You know that stuff is important," Sam said. "It's our history."

"Yeah, history as in dead and over with," Mike told him.

Dean smiled. "Don't worry. Maybe Dad will cool off before he gets home."

"Right. And you get a date out of it."

"Yeah. She's hot, too. I really dig that English accent."

Mike shook her head. "This is so unfair."

Once in the hotel room, Mike grabbed some change and bought some sodas and chips from the machines nearby. The three children sat on the bed and watched _My Bloody Valentine _on TV while they waited for John. Their father showed up just as the movie ended. He gave Dean money to go buy dinner for them, telling him to take Sammy along. Then he sat down on the bed across from where Mike sat. He looked at his daughter for a moment before asking her, "Mike. Why do you insist on fighting?"

"I tried not to Dad. Those girls pestered me since I got here. I just couldn't take it anymore."

"What were they doing?"

She shrugged. "Name calling. Teasing. Embarrassing me."

"What did they say that was so bad?"

"It wasn't so bad, really. Mostly they called me the homeless girl. Which I don't care about cause I don't think of myself as homeless, but they just never stopped, Dad."

"Mike, I know you want to be a hunter. And if you're ever going to be a good one, one that stays alive, you have to control your temper. What am I going to do with you?"

She stood and put her hands on his shoulders. "Be proud of me, Dad. I didn't lose my temper. I very carefully dropped my books to the floor and came up with a right you would've been proud of." Mike made the slow motion movement of a right cross in front of her Dad's chin. "Caught her totally off guard. Then I stomped on Amber's foot and when she leaned forward I gave her shoulders a push that sent her across the hall. Once she hit the wall, she slid to the floor, whining." Mike pushed her father, but of course he didn't go flying. She continued as he smiled at her. "I would've done more, but they were down. Then when they reported me they lied and said I attacked for no reason."

"Yeah, well I didn't believe that part. But you are grounded."

"I get grounded and Dean gets a date out of it," she said with her hands on her hips.

"He's not dating one of them is he?"

"No. Another girl came up and...um...said she liked my right and we got talking about brothers. Then when Dean picked me up, she showed up at my locker and started flirting with him."

Dad smiled and shook his head. Although Dean had only turned fifteen recently, he already needed a score card. "Look, I'm not grounding you so much out of anger as the need to hide you. I have another case and I need you kids to stay here. If anyone sees you, there'll be questions I won't want to answer. They'll expect you to be in school and I can't send you back there. I need you to stay in this room, and don't go outside unless the place is on fire. Okay?"

"Can't I go with you? I haven't been on a hunt in awhile."

"No. This is going to be too dangerous. I'm not even sure what I'm up against yet."

"Dad how am I going to become a better hunter if I'm always sitting in a motel room?"

"Someone has to stay with Sammy. You want to tell Dean he can't go on his date?"

Mike was about to argue, when she remembered that Dean never gave their father a hard time about watching them. He deserved to go out. "No. I'll stay with Sammy."

"Promise me you'll stay inside."

She nodded. "Okay. Hey, since Dean is going out and I'm stuck in here forever, you think you could take me and Sammy down to that ice cream place before you leave?"

Dad smiled. "You get kicked out of school for fighting and you think you should get ice cream?"

Mike looked at him with what Dean called her "puppy dog eyes" and said, "Please Daddy?"

He laughed. "That really doesn't work on me. But okay."

The door opened as Dean and Sam entered and as soon as they finished eating, Dean left for his date.

Before Dad left, he reminded Sam to listen to his sister and once their brother was back, both of them were to listen to Dean. "And Mike, you especially. You stay inside. You know the drill."

"Yes sir. Curtains closed, keep the doors and windows locked and don't answer the phone unless it rings once first. I promise." She gave him a hug. "And thanks for the ice cream."

Sam and Dean returned to the school for the next two weeks. Lil came over to visit daily, even cutting school one day to spend time with Mike and keep her company. And, Mike was sure, to get to see Dean as often as possible. Mike wrote her excuse for her, even forging her mother's signature to perfection, copying a signature on a check that Lil had brought with her.

"You're awfully good at that," Lil said.

"Yeah. It comes naturally."

One day as Dean and Sam went out to pick up lunch, she asked Mike, "Are you ever afraid of the dark?"

"No. As long as you're ready for whatever may show up, you have nothing to be afraid of. Why?"

"I'm serious Mike. What about things that live in your closet or under the bed. Or...in the attic?"

"You have something in your attic?"

"My mother tells me to stop being silly but if there's nothing up there, where do the noises come from?"

"Squirrels, mice, wind. What kind of noises?"

"Footsteps. Sometimes I hear crying. Last night I heard the attic door open and someone come down the stairs. I thought it was my Mum so I got up to see what she was doing up there so late, and there was no one there. But the attic door was open. As I watched it, it closed. Slowly at first, then it slammed."

"So...what do you think it is?"

"I don't know. I don't believe in ghosts so what could it be?"

"Just because you don't believe in them, doesn't mean they don't exist."

"You're making fun of me."

"No, I'm not."

Dean and Sam came in and Mike told Lil, "You better tell Dean what you told me."

"No, he'll laugh at me."

"No he won't."

Lil repeated her story to Mike's brothers. Dean listened without comment until she finished. The girl seemed sincere so he suggested, "Tomorrow's Saturday. Why don't I come over and take a look at the attic?"

"I want to come too," Mike said.

"No. You have to stay inside," Dean told her. "You can stay here with Sammy."

"Oh come on Dean! I'm going stir crazy."

"No!"

"You shouldn't go alone. What if you need back up?"

"Why would you need backup?" Lil asked. "What do you really think is in my attic?"

"We can't be sure until we check it out."

"Mike!" Dean cautioned, then looked at Lil. "She's a big fan of horror movies. She sees ghosts and monsters everywhere. She thinks it's fun to go out in the dark, just to see if one will show up and chase her. I'll figure it out tomorrow when I get there. Probably just some squirrels." Dean gave his sister a look that told her to knock it off. They weren't suppose to be talking about this stuff to civilians. Talking to others about the family business wasn't something Dad would forgive easily.

Lil left a short time later and Dean reminded Mike about keeping the family secret. "I know she's a friend of yours but you can't just tell people what we do."

"I didn't say what we did. I just talked about ghosts."

"Yeah and I think I covered you pretty good, but in the future, keep your cake hole shut."

"Well how do we find out what's going on if we don't talk about it?"

"We keep it simple...squirrels, for instance, until they end up seeing something for themselves or...or something happens that they can't explain. Then they know we're not crazy and they don't talk about it to other people, cause those people will think they're crazy."

"Fine."

"C'mon Mike. This is important to remember. What do you think her parents would do if they found out the truth about us?"

Mike knew it would bring nothing but trouble for them. "Okay. I'll keep quiet until I know for sure that they'll believe me."

"No, you keep quiet and you tell me or Dad. Nobody else. Got it?"

Mike made a face. "Got it."

The next day, Lil showed up in a chauffered car to pick up Dean. "Oh, this is not fair!" complained Mike as she looked out the window. "I get to sit in this crappy motel room and you get to ride in a BMW? With a chauffer?"

Dean smiled at her. "I'm really glad you made friends with her. If Dad comes back, let him know where I am."

"I don't even know where she lives."

"He can call me. You stay inside. Remember, you get into trouble and I'll catch it from Dad."

"I know. But you better come back with some good stories. Got the salt and holy water?"

"Yeah."

"Here," she said.

"A paper clip? I'm not going to get arrested, Mike."

"Take it."

Dean pocketed the clip, winked at her, then left. Mike closed the door and locked it. Using Dad's credit card, she ordered the horror movie "Devour" and spent the time staring at the cute guy who starred in the flick. It was early evening when Dean returned and told them what had happened.

"When I first got there, her parents were home so I had to talk to them for a bit. I hate that. I don't do parents. I guess they figured I was okay, cause they went out and left us with her governess."

"What's a governess?" asked Mike.

"That's what rich people call their baby sitters."

"How rich are they?"

"The house is huge. Maids, a cook...who makes an awesome blueberry pie..."

"You had pie?"

"Two pieces."

"We had stale Fruit Rings."

"Check out the bag I brought back. There's two pieces of pie for you guys."

Mike and Sam ate their pie while Dean continued with the story. "Anyway, servants all over the place. Her governess finally left us alone for a few minutes and we managed to get up to the attic. There wasn't any sulfur, so I knew right away that it wasn't a demon. But then I started putting some salt out, and this little girl showed up. She just sat there crying and Lil tried to talk to her, once she got over being terrified. The girl didn't say anything, but this male spirit appeared and the kid screamed and vanished. Then he looked at us and started walking toward us, so I threw salt at him. Lil turned and ran down the steps and just as she got to the door it slammed shut. We couldn't open it and she was yelling and pounding on it, and then all of a sudden her governess showed up and it opened right away. We almost got into trouble, but Lil told them she just got freaked out by being in the attic and thought we were locked in. By then it was almost dinnertime, so we hung out til it was time to eat."

"What did you do while you hung out?"

"We shot some pool."

"Is that all you did?"

"Yeah. Her governess kept checking on us," Dean said with a grin. "Made Lil too nervous to have a good time."

"So do we know who the ghosts are?"

He nodded. "Lil showed me an old photo album. There's a picture of Lil's great-great-grandfather who looks like the ghost I saw and he's shown with his wife and kids. The youngest girl looks familiar too. Lil's going to check on the family history and see if anything happened that would explain the ghosts."

"Then we go find the grave and salt and burn the bones."

"Not we...me."

"You are _not_ going alone," Mike told him.

"Let's wait and see what Lil finds out. Then I'll see if I can reach Dad. Maybe we can work something out so you can come along."

"Forget it. You tell him we want to work a case and he'll tell all of us to stay in."

"It's not that big a deal. Just have to go dig up the grave. It's not like we have to do anything dangerous."

"I don't want to dig up a grave," Sam said. "I want to watch my cartoons."

"Sam, life is not a cartoon," Mike said. "Try to be realistic. This is what Winchesters do."

Sam laid down on the bed and ignored his brother and sister for the rest of the evening, finally falling asleep on top of the covers and laying across the top of the bed. Mike pulled back the blankets and laid down on Dean's bed.

"Hey, I'm suppose to get the bed to myself. I'm the big brother."

"Yeah, well little brother is taking up the whole bed over there and I'm not sleeping on the floor."

Dean sighed. He knew it was next to impossible to wake Sam or move him without a fight and he just wasn't in the mood. Grabbing the extra blanket from the closet, he laid down on top of the blankets next to Mike and immediately fell asleep.

The next morning, Lil called early and woke them all. She was excited about the news and couldn't wait to share it. "Well, apparently, my great-great-grandfather was not the little girl's father. He was her grandfather. Because of the social atmosphere of those times, he didn't want anyone to know what his daughter had done, so they sent her away. My great-great-grandmother pretended to be pregnant and supposedly went to visit my aunt...who they said was 'away at school' and gave birth there. When they came home, my great-great-grandparents pretended that the girl was theirs. But after several years of lying, my aunt decided she was going to leave with her daughter and her father was so afraid that the story would leak out and embarrass the family, that he killed the girl. Of course they told everyone that there was some sort of accident as a cover up. My aunt was so distraught that she hid away in the house until she died a natural death at a rather young age."

"Okay," said Dean. "So where are they buried?"

"In the family plot."

"Where?"

"Local cemetery."

"All right. Tell me where it is and we can take care of this for you." When Dean hung up, he dialed his father. Surprisingly, he was able to reach him and gave Dean permission to go to the cemetery that night to salt and burn the bones.

"I can't believe Dad said okay. But you didn't ask him if I could go," Mike said.

"Didn't have to. He said I could take you and Sam. He'll be home sometime tonight or early morning."

Mike smiled. For once, she was going to get in on the fun.

"We wait til dark, then head out to the cemetery."

"How far is it?"

"Other side of town. But Lil's going to give us a ride."

"What grown up is going to give us a ride to a cemetery at night? And what about her parents?"

"Her parents left for France this morning. The chauffer doesn't know where we're going. She's going to tell him we're going somewhere nearby, then when he leaves, we go to the cemetery."

"Oh. She's pretty sneaky isn't she?" said Mike.

"Yeah. I like her." He put his jacket on. "I'm going to go to the store down the street and pick up some matches and more salt. We need lighter fluid too. Then I'll hit the hardware store and get a couple of shovels."

"You want me to go with you?"

"Mike, you have to stay inside."

"If Dad's coming home tonight, it won't matter if someone sees me."

"No. He said you could go to the cemetery but he didn't say you could go out before that."

"Well pick up something good to eat while you're there, ok?"

"Yeah," Dean said and left. He waited a moment until he heard Mike double lock the door, then headed to the store. It took a little over an hour for him to return, but along with the necessities for the trip to the cemetery, he brought sandwiches and cherry pie.

"How come the pie is wrapped in a towel?" asked Sam.

Dean grinned. "Cause I got it off a windowsill."

Mike laughed. "Home made pie. You did good."

"Don't we ever just buy stuff?" asked Sam.

"You know, when Dad gets back, I'm going to ask him if he's sure we're related," Mike told her younger brother.

That night, just as it was getting dark, the BMW pulled up outside their motel room. The three of them walked to the car, each one wondering how to explain the shovels.

"I'll take those for you," the driver said and placed them in the trunk.

"Thanks," Dean said, puzzled at not being questioned. Once they had been let off at the local church, whose parking lot was quite full, Dean asked Lil, "How come he didn't ask what we were doing with the shovels?"

"I already explained it to him. We're helping the local church plant trees."

"At night?" Mike asked.

"The farmer's almanac says it's the best time. It also happens to be a full moon."

"Oh."

Dean smiled. "Smart."

Lil beamed.

"Let's go," Mike said, not interested in being forgotten by those two again.

Lil and Dean led the way, the two younger ones following behind them. Mike just shook her head and hoped she'd never get so loopy over a guy.

It was a short walk to the adjacent graveyard and they soon entered the gates of Green Mountain Cemetery. "I'm afraid the rest of the walk will be uphill, but it isn't terribly long."

"That's ok. When we're most tired, we'll be going downhill," Dean answered.

"I can't believe you're not tired from carrying those shovels. They must be awfully heavy."

"Not so bad. I'm okay."

Mike and Sam looked at each other and made faces.

A few minutes later, Lil walked onto the grassy area, and pointed to a fenced in section that held a large monument. On it, were engraved the names of all the Emmetts that were buried there.

Mike saw several graves that held a young girl and asked, "What's the girls name?"

"Lilian."

"Ooh. That's a little creepy. It's over here. Might as well do it first."

"No," Lil said. "We're not doing the girl."

"What do you mean?" Mike asked.

Dean answered. "Lil doesn't want us to send her away."

"You can't keep spirits in your home. They're not pets."

"It just doesn't seem right. She suffered enough," Lil answered.

"We're not hurting her. Just sending her on her way."

"No! And if you insist on doing it, I'll...I'll scream."

Mike looked at Dean. "Do something with your girlfriend."

"Mike, let it go. It's her ghost."

"It's not her ghost. It's the ghost of a little girl that ought to be laid to rest."

"Mike, we're not doing it."

"Dean! You know hunters don't leave a job unfinished."

"Give us a minute, Lil," Dean said and grabbing Mike's arm led her a short distance away. "First of all, I told you no talking about what we do. It's not a job and we're not hunters. We're just helping a friend. And we can tell Dad about it when he gets back and if he wants to, we'll come back tomorrow night and finish the job. But we aren't going to piss her off. There's no way of knowing who she might tell if she gets mad. She can say just enough to get us into trouble. So we wait for Dad. Okay?"

Mike sighed and looked around the cemetery as she thought about it, then looked up at him. "Next time, we don't bring civilians with us."

Dean nodded his agreement. "Let's find the old man's grave and get done."

"Over here," Lil called.

"Shh," Sam cautioned her.

"Who else would be out here?"

"Could have some kind of security," Sam said.

"Or Satanists looking for a new grave so they can collect a heart."

"You're not serious."

Dean looked at his sister. "She likes to try to scare people. Of course, I might know where they could get a fresh heart," he added meaningfully.

"Maybe I should threaten to scream," Mike muttered.

"Knock it off, Mike!" Dean ordered and handed her a shovel. The two of them began digging and a few feet down, finally hit something solid. After scraping off more dirt, he broke the lock on the side of the coffin and stepped back as much as he could in the grave. Looking at Mike, he said, "Ladies first."

She looked at him and sighed. "I had heard chivalry was dead. Now I believe it."

Dean smiled and winked at her as she stepped up and reached for the lid of the coffin. Although it must have been a fine one in its day, water had seeped in and weakened the wood. As Mike stepped forward to get into a position to open it, the wood gave way and her foot slipped into the coffin, sending up a cloud of grey dust. She heard Lil gasp.

"Oh god. You fell into the coffin!"

"I'm fine Lil. It's not like I've fallen and can't get up."

Dean had grabbed her, preventing her from actually falling, and with his help, she stepped back. With Dean continuing to steady her, and reminding her to step on the edge where the sides of the coffin added support, she used her shovel to break apart the rest of the wood and expose the long dead skeleton of Lil's great-great-grandfather. By the time she had finished, both she and Dean were wearing a light coat of grey dust mixed with their sweat.

"Hello there, baby killer," Dean said. "Sam, toss me the salt and lighter fluid." Sam did as he was asked but a look of fear crossed his face as he took several steps to the side, backing into Lil. She looked up and pure terror filled her eyes..

"What is it?" Dean said but almost immediately saw what had caused their alarm.

Sam started to yell as the man in the old fashioned clothes grabbed him. Mike and Dean jumped out of the grave to help their brother. Dean tossed some salt onto the spirit and in a cloud, he disappeared, releasing Sam. Seconds later, he reappeared and reached for Mike.

As she backed up, she said, "Dean, burn him! I'll keep him away from Sammy!" Her brother hesitated, not wanting to leave her to the ghost, but she yelled at him. "Go! I'll be okay. You can stop him. Sam, keep Lil out of the way."

Dean stepped over to the grave and spread the salt and the lighter fluid, while also keeping an eye on Sam and Lil.

"Come on, you son of a bitch! You like killing little girls? Come and get me." The ghost did just that, grabbing Mike by the throat and lifting her off the ground. "Dean! Now would be a good time to light him up!" she yelled before her air was cut off.

Dean checked his pockets. "Damn! Where's the matches?"

"Oh crap!" Mike said when she remembered that she had the matches. She had to stop struggling long enough to reach into her pocket, grab the matchbook, and toss it to her brother. "Dean! Hurry!" She tried to yell, but by now she could only manage a hoarse whisper.

"Dean! Down!" they heard and Dean hit the ground. Suddenly a shot rang out and the ghost disappeared in a cloud of dust, letting Mike fall. Dean lit the matchbook and tossed it into the grave. The lighter fluid ignited just as Lil saw the ghost walking toward her. In seconds, his form became a burning ember and he disappeared forever. The kids all looked to the left and saw John Winchester standing there.

"Thanks Dad," Mike said with a little cough, as Dean helped her up.

"You're welcome. Cut it a little close didn't you?"

"Yeah, I forgot to give Dean the matches. But I'm okay."

He nodded. "You kids did good. I'm proud of you. And you must be Lil."

"Yes sir. A pleasure to meet you although I think I'd prefer it under more pleasant circumstances."

John smiled and looked at Dean. "Are we done here?"

Mike wanted to tell him, but she decided to let Dean handle it. "I'll shovel the dirt back. Come help me Sammy."

When they were done, John told the kids to go back the way they had planned. He didn't want the chauffer to become suspicious of what they had really been doing.

Lil had her driver take the Winchester kids back to the motel and as Mike and Sam went inside, Dean talked to Lil. Mike couldn't resist looking through the curtains to see why Dean was taking so long to come inside and was just in time to see him kiss Lil. As he leaned back, Lil put her arms around his neck and kissed him. When he came in, Mike asked what they had talked about.

He shrugged. "Just said goodbye. I told her we'd probably be leaving tomorrow."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Cause you like her."

"Yeah, you kissed her," Sam said.

"Were you spying on me?" Dean said angrily.

"No," Sam said. "Mike was."

"I was not!"

"Was too."

"I just looked out to see what was taking so long and I saw you kiss her."

"Yeah, and then she kissed you back," Sam said.

Dean sighed and looked at Mike. "You know, if you were a guy..."

"I'm sorry," Mike said.

"Don't do it again."

"I won't."

"Anyway, I do like her but I knew we weren't going to stay."

"What's taking Dad so long?"

"I told him about the girl. He's salting and burning her bones."

"Oh."

Dad returned soon and told them that they'd be leaving in the morning. The next stop would be Minnesota.

*************  
April...1994...

Dean was 15 in January

Mike is 12.10, will be 13 in June

Sam is 10.11, will be 11 in May


End file.
